12-13-2017, 01:45 PM
(12-13-2017, 11:30 AM)Bring4th_Jade Wrote: The other thing I fail to take into consideration thoroughly when making a post, is that my in-person human is very small, gentle, and soft-spoken. I think the people who have met me can vouch that there is nothing intimidating or aggressive about my demeanor in person. So, I think it's possible that I take that gentleness in my physical demeanor for granted, and I don't account for how people *read my words* independent of knowing from physical proximity that I don't have a mean bone or ulterior motive residing within me. So, integrating that gentleness into an online demeanor is something I need to work on. HOWEVER, on the flip side, I want to point out how lopsided it is, not just here but everywhere, that when a woman has an opinion and speaks her mind, she is often considered "shrill" and "forceful", or other connotations of these types. I feel a part of that is being projected onto my words, because sometimes I really fail to see where I failed so poorly in my delivery that someone could misconstrue me as being judgemental, manipulative, attacking, etc.
I personally don't care at all what people may think of me, however, I do care about what I project into the world. The responsibility for how I act and interact in the world is completely mine, but I am not responsible for others' reactions. So, as Jade said above about integrating her gentle manner into an online demeanor, this is something I have also endeavored to do, though in my case it's more respectful than gentle. We are all responsible for our words, and on the screen with no bodily presence this is really challenging. It's a really good mirror here, for us all to hone our communication skills.
There are so many societal judgments, which are meaningless, transitory, and fear-based. Jade, you always come across as gentle to me, but also honest, which I highly respect.
If I were asked to give advice to womanhood in general (which of course no one would do, because who cares about my puny opinion, which I am going to impart anyway
), I would say: Forge ahead through the backwards attitudes; be a spiritual warrior and have courage; be yourself regardless of what society or anyone says or thinks; know that things aren't balanced yet and instead of complaining about it stay focused on being the change; and above all know that you are paving the way to a more evolved existence and stay in that more evolved existence instead of getting sucked back down into the human drama.If I were asked to give advice to men, it would be the same.
It's not easy to be here no matter what anyone says, in my opinion. Personally, I think it's critical to stay focused, but that's me. There are others who, like fish in a current, flow with it all. It's all valid. But I would add that staying detached from the human drama is a critical piece of the puzzle of forward movement.